Tooth and Claw Nine redux
by User 4575
Summary: Part of the Nine Redux series, following on from the Christmas Invasion and New Earth. What if the Doctor hadn't regenerated? AU, obviously.


Tooth and Claw

Part the in the Nine Redux series. Wouldn't the whole show have just been so much better with the Ninth Doctor? As usual, all outside events occur exactly as they did on-screen: I see no need to transcribe them.

We pick up at the end of New Earth, just after Cassandra was dropped off. The trio are in the TARDIS, and Jack has something to talk to the Doctor about.

"Okay, Doctor? Got something I want to ask you about. You remember that whole coming-back-from-the-dead thing?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"It's happened again. In that hospital, while you were...possessed. I got touched by one of the plague-carriers and fell off the ladder. Then I woke up. By the way, was it you who started the contagious cure?"

"Yep." the Doctor sounded proud of himself.

"Nice work." Jack was admiring. "But about my, ah, problem?"

"Ah. Yes. I was afraid of this. The Bad Wolf brought you back from the dead, but it seems to have done it a bit to well. You're not just alive, Jack. You're immortal. I'm sorry."

"I'm immortal?! But what about ageing?"

"I don't know. Shall we go have a look?"

They left for the medical bay and Rose, unobserved, sank down against the wall of the console room. She'd made Jack immortal? That meant he could never die. Selfishly, she was glad, since that meant she'd never have to mourn him... but he'd certainly be mourning her. He'd outlive her, the Doctor...everyone. What had she done? She started crying, quietly.

After some tests, the Doctor had discovered a few things about Jack.

"Well, Doc? Will I live?" he quipped.

"Very funny. Yes, you will. You'll age, but very much more slowly than you otherwise would have. You dying seems to act like something of a reset too, retarding the ageing process somewhat. Furthermore, you're immortal for now but you won't live forever-forever. This happened because Rose looked into the heart of the TARDIS. That means, as far as I can tell, that after the old girl finally passes on, you're back to normal. Ageing rate will still be slow, that's a permanent cellular mutation, but there'll be nothing to pull you out of the grave, so you'll stay dead."

"Well, thank God for that. At least I know there'll be an end to this someday. Wasn't looking forward to the end of the universe, especially." He shook off his melancholy. "Hey, why doesn't the TARDIS like me any more?"

"What do you mean?"

"It keeps shocking me, especially if I rest my hand on the walls for a while, and it used to like that."

"Oh, right. Must be because you're a Fact."

"A what?"

"A Fact. A fixed point in time and space. That's the only way that what's happened to you can be possible. Anyway, I can feel it too. See, cos you're a fixed point, you don't quite join up right with the rest of the universe. Leaves jagged edges, and I can fell 'em. The TARDIS must be able to as well."

"So I feel funny to you?"

"No need to turn it into an innuendo. Anyway, you still haven't bought me that drink."

"Didn't seem to bother you on the Gamestation."

"Special circumstances. Which these aren't. Anyway, where's Rose got to?"

They found her in the console room. She'd stopped crying, but was still clearly upset.

"What've I done to him?" she asked the Doctor sadly.

"What? Oh, Rose. It wasn't really you. You just wanted him alive, it was the TARDIS who misinterpreted that and overdid it." He glowered at the console.

"Besides, if I don't blame you, why should you blame yourself?" Jack put his arm around her. "I'll probably regret what's happened at some point, but I'll never regret meeting you. Besides," he grinned. "It's pretty flattering when you think about it. We've only known each other a month and already you can't imagine the universe without me!"

She gave a watery smile. "I guess."

"Come on, Rose." added the Doctor. "Cheer up. Hey, why don't you come over here and see if your TARDIS lessons have stuck? See if you can send us to a random destination."

"Well done, Rose! You're doing really well at this! We're in Scotland, mid-afternoon, 21st of November, 1879. Wonder what happened then?"

"Well, I remember what you said last time we were in 1879. I'm gonna get changed. Coming, Jack?"

"Absolutely! Can I watch?" Laughing and bickering, the pair disappeared from sight around a corner, as the Doctor watched fondly. And possibly just a little bit jealously too, though of course he'd never admit that.

Rose turned up in a plain, navy blue dress with just a little bit of lace at the collar and cuffs. Jack was wearing a simple suit, with the longest coat he could get away with while staying in period.

"Well. Aren't you the lovely pair?" the Doctor said admiringly.

"For humans?" Rose prodded.

"Aesthetically. Aesthetically, you look lovely."

"And I think that's the best we're gonna get out of him. Come on!" Jack said teasingly, pulling the others behind him out the door...

...Where they were faced by what looked like half a platoon of redcoats pointing guns at them. They stopped, and raised their hands in the air. "Hello," said Jack in a startling Scottish accent. "May I ask why there's all this fuss going on?" He waved one raised hand as if to indicate the guns.

"What are you doing here?" The mounted redcoat responded.

"My friends and I were just taking a wee walk." He saw the carriage, realised they must have just arrived, and added "We stopped to investigate this rather peculiar structure, then came out to find you here."

"Who are you?" the other man seemed slightly less hostile now.

"My name is Captain Jack Harkness." Jack said.

"And your companions?"

"Hello, there. I'm Doctor Chesterton, and this is my niece and ward, Miss Rose Tyler. I have my credentials on me, as a matter of fact, if you'll allow me." He moved his hand fractionally toward his pocket. The redcoat nodded. He reached inside, pulled out the psychic paper and showed it to the men.

"Let them approach." said a voice from the carriage.

"Are you sure that's wise, ma'am?"

"Let them approach!"

"Please, sirs, miss, show all due deference." the redcoat admonished.

The Doctor nodded, and the three approached the carriage. "Rose, Jack." he said, smiling. "May I present Her Majesty Queen Victoria."

Jack bowed. "Captain Jack Harkness, at your service, ma'am."

Rose bobbled a curtsey. "Rose Tyler, ma'am. I apologise for not being better dressed to meet Your Majesty."

Victoria smiled. "That's quite all right. I have daughters myself, and am well aware of the distinction between what is practical and what is pretty. Sir, may I see your credentials?"

Jack and the Doctor both reached into their pockets. Victoria smiled. "I apologise for the ambiguity, however since you both seem to be carrying them... Captain, might I see yours first?" Jack handed over the psychic paper. "But why didn't you say so? It says here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my protector in this area."

Jack blinked, thought fast. "I'm sorry, ma'am. That was to be in the unlikely event that you travelled by road, and the squadron of guns pointed at me proved quite the distraction!"

"Of course. I'm travelling by road because there was a tree on the railway line."

"Assassination?" the Doctor asked, instantly alert.

"It would seem so."

"Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We've sent word ahead, he can shelter us for the night, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow." interrupted the redcoat who had spoken earlier.

"These men will accompany us, of course."

"Yes, ma'am. We'd better get moving; it's almost nightfall."

"Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales, to scare the children, but good for the blood, I think! Drive on!"

Walking behind the coach, Rose asked "What's with the accent?"

"When in Rome." Jack answered. "And you'll not catch me speaking anything other than Scottish English 'till were back in the TARDIS, either, ya tim'rous beastie!"

"You two," the Doctor said, serious. "Rose, you're my niece and my ward, because you're an orphan, and Jack, you're my brother-in-law. I had two sisters, obviously. That's the only way it's gonna be acceptable for us to all be together like this, let alone hug, so try to remember?"

"You've got it." Jack grinned, appreciative of the Doctor's strategy.

"Yes, uncle." Rose stuck her tongue out.

After the introductions, when Her Majesty had been escorted inside, one of the redcoats received orders to "escort the property". He took a small, brown box out of the carriage. Speaking in his assumed accent, the Doctor asked "What's in there, then?"

"Property of the Crown." came the forbidding answer. "You will dismiss all further thought of it." He continued to give orders, as the three time-travellers followed the others inside.

The tour of the house found them eventually in a large room. MacLeish began to describe its chief occupant, a magnificent telescope.

"Oh, but that's fantastic. May I look at it?" asked the Doctor.

"Feel free." MacLeish answered.

"What's it modelled on, do you know?"

"I'm afraid not. The rest of us thought my father...shall we say, a little eccentric? I wish now I'd... spent more time with him, and listened to his stories." He seemed oddly nervous, though that could have been the presence of his monarch, right in front of him. Jack made a mental note - something was _off_ here.

"Are you sure this is a telescope? It looks more like some sort of refractor, there are too many lenses and mirrors otherwise - you'd never be able to align it."

"The imagination of such a project should be applauded, at least." Queen Victoria seemed to be trying to reassure their host.

"Oh, certainly. I could only wish you father were alive, sir, to explain what's clearly a well-constructed and intriguing machine."

"Believe me, Doctor Chesterton, so do I." Again, the man seemed oddly...fervent.

"My husband was quite impressed by the estate. Both men shared an interest in folklore, you see," she explained, seeing Rose looking puzzled. She seemed to have taken quite a shine to the girl. "He was from Saxe-Coburg, where legends are still much more widely believed than here. When Albert heard about your local wolf, he was transported."

"A wolf?" Jack had pricked his ears up.

"It's just a story." their host replied.

"Then why not tell us?" the Doctor asked gently.

"It's said..." he began, clearly very uneasy.

"Excuse me. Sir." the Steward broke in. "Perhaps Her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark."

"Of course! Of course."

"And then supper. And, could we find some finer clothes for Miss Tyler? She finds herself unable to dress for dinner. We shall dine at seven, when you can tell us more about this...bad wolf of yours. After all, there is a full moon tonight."

"As Your Majesty wishes."

Rose went to look in the closet of the room she'd been assigned, and was startled to find a maid burst out. They both shrieked.

"Hey, it's all right, it's only me. What's wrong, what happened?" Rose asked kindly.

"They came through the house last night. They took the Steward, and the Master, and my Lady." the poor maid was still clearly terrified.

"Listen, I'm here with friends. One of them's called the Doctor, he can help. Come with me, we'll explain what's happening."

"I can't, miss." she whispered.

"What's your name?" Rose tried to reassure the terrified girl.

"Flora."

"Well, Flora, there are soldiers downstairs. We'll be safe, now come on." The other girl nodded. Roe looked out into the corridor; it seemed to be clear. She pulled Flora behind her, and they walked slowly along, until Rose found one of the soldiers, prone on the floor.

"Oh, miss. I did warn ye!" Flora cried. Rose felt for a pulse.

"He's not dead." she said. "I don't think, he must be drugged or something." Hearing a gasp, she looked up. She was then seized from behind and carried off, struggling.

"I'm afraid we can't wait much longer for your niece, Doctor. The food is growing cold."

"It's not like her to be this late. I should look for her, if Your Majesty will excuse me."

"Of course." she said graciously.

"Jack. Don't forget to ask Sir Robert for his tale of nightmares!" he added, in the doorway.

"Indeed. Since my husband's death, I find myself developing a taste for supernatural fiction."

"You miss him, ma'am." Jack said kindly.

"Very much. It's the charm of a ghost story, I think. The chills and scares are just for children, it's the - hope of some message from beyond. It's the Creator's greatest mystery why we're allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent, and we must wait."

"Not always, ma'am. They've yet to give up their secrets, but the dead don't always stay silent. Now, Sir Robert, what better cue could you ask?"

"Be silent." said the lady of the house, Lady Isabel. "They said if we scream, if we cry out, they'll release him."

"But he's just a man. He's their prisoner, he's like us!" Rose said, confused and wary.

"He's nothing like us!" Lady Isabel said desperately. "That creature is no mortal."

The being in the cage opened his eyes, revealing great black pupils and irises like a dog's, with barely any white showing in the corners. The others cowered away, but Rose sat up and advanced.

"The story goes back some three hundred years." Sir Robert began his tale. "Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and...devoured." He looked distinctly unhappy. Jack's feeling of _wrongness_ was growing.

"Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves." said the captain of the redcoats, who was dining with them. "Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, as simple as that."

"But sometimes a child goes missing. Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead..."

Rose stood. "Don't, child!" Lady Isabel begged. She walked forward, straining to see in the flickering candlelight.

She reached the limit of the chain pinning her to the wall. "Who are you?"

The being in the cage answered, but his answer was gibberish.

"Where are you from? You're not from Earth. What planet're you from?"

"Mmmmm. Intelligence." The voice was high and girlish.

"Where were you born?" Rose persisted.

"This body - ten miles away. A weakling, heartsick boy. Stolen away at night by the Brethren for my... cultivation." His voice lowered, hardened. "I carved out his soul and sat in his heart."

The whole house seemed very empty, the Doctor thought. Where were all the soldiers? He noticed a drop of liquid on the floor. He crouched, took some on his fingers, sniffed it. Sedatives. Something was very wrong here. He went the rest of the way to Rose's room at a run.

"Are there descriptions of the creature?" Jack asked.

"Oh, yes, Captain. Drawings and wood-carvings. It's not only a wolf, it's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal." MacLeish seemed scared by his own tale.

"A werewolf?" Jack leaned forward.

"All right." Rose said. "So the body's human. What about you? The thing inside."

"So far from home." the voice was high again.

"If you wanna get back home, we can help."

"Why would I leave this place? A world of industry and workforce and warfare. I could turn it to such purpose."

"How would you do that?"

"I would migrate to the holy monarch."

"You mean Queen Victoria?"

"With one bite, my presence in her blood, then begins the empire of the wolf! So many questions." He started up, suddenly, and they all shrank back. "Look!" The voice was very high, now, almost frantic. "Inside your eyes, you've seen it too!"

"Seen what?"

"There is something of the wolf about you."

"I don't know what you mean."

"You burn like the sun, but all I require is the moon." He was almost howling.

She wasn't there. They'd taken her! Whoever _they_ were, the Doctor added to himself. He sprinted back to warn the others.

"My father didn't treat it as a story," MacLeish continued. "He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose. I should have listened. He made enemies. There's a monastery, in the glen, of Saint Catherine. The brethren opposed my father's investigations."

"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly." Queen Victoria said.

"That's what I thought. But now, I wonder." The Steward had moved to the window, and was chanting lowly. "If they had a different reason for interfering with his work. What if they turned from God, and worshipped the wolf?"

The chanting intensified "...Lupus deis est!" _The wolf is god._

"And what if they were with us right now?" Jack asked, turning.

The trapdoor was thrown open, leaving moonlight streaming into the cellar. The creature in the cage pressed his face to the bars, smiling. "Moonlight." He moved out of his robes.

"Everyone! Pull! Flora, don't look, listen to me! Now, with me! Pull!" Rose cried, seizing on the terror in the room (and possibly her own) to try to escape. "I said pull! Stop looking at him, pull! That means all of you, Your Ladyship now come on!"

The Doctor burst in. "Something's very wrong!"

"We knew that, Doctor!" Jack snapped, making shushing motions. Fortunately, the Steward was still distracted.

"What is the meaning of this?" Victoria asked, standing.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but they've got my wife." MacLeish said, almost at the same time.

"Come on, run!" the Doctor called from the doorway. No-one listened.

Screaming now, the creature strained upwards. He was transforming, becoming more wolf-like by the moment. "One, two, three! Come on, one, two, three!" Rose was still marshalling the others, trying to break free.

"What is it that you want?" the redcoat captain finally succeeded in breaking through the Steward's chant.

"The throne." He replied, and smacked the gun from the other's outstretched hand. The Doctor pulled Jack and MacLeish after him into the corridor, and broke into a run.

Fully lupine now, the werewolf turned his attention to his cage. Rose's efforts finally paid off as the bracket holding their chains to the wall gave way. The Doctor, having guessed where they must be holding Rose and the others, burst into the cellar. "Where the hell have you been?" Rose yelled.

He was distracted briefly by the wolf, which was in the process of shaking its cage to pieces. "That's beautiful!" he said. Meanwhile, Sir Robert had run to his wife, and Jack had caught Rose up in a great hug.

"Thank God you're safe!" he cried.

"Out! Out, out out, out out! It's breaking through the cage, now run!" the Doctor called, herding the terrified people into the kitchen. He followed, and sonicked the door shut behind him. "It's the moonlight, the transformation must be triggered by specific wavelengths." the Doctor said to the others, as he finished undoing the last of the manacles.

"But what does it want?" Jack asked.

"Queen, crown, throne, you name it!" Rose answered. Her hair had grown very dishevelled by this point.

"Ssh." the Doctor interrupted, holding up a finger. "What's that?" He moved cautiously into the hallway, where he found that the wolf, instead of going through the locked kitchen door, had simply gone around and through the house. "Run!" he said, grabbing his companions' hands as he sprinted back towards the interior. The men of the house, led by the real steward, formed a line, holding muskets.

"Fire!" he cried, as the wolf appeared in the doorway. It retreated, growling. "Fire!" he cried again, advancing. The women had run into another part of the kitchen, looking desperately for an exit.

"There." he said, when they had finished. "There's no creature alive could survive that kind of assault."

"That one can, and did. Come upstairs, now."

"No, Sir, I won't." he replied, moving into the corridor. "There, you see? It must have crawled away to -" he was cut of by the werewolf, which hauled him up through the ceiling. The rest of the men levelled their guns again, as the Doctor fled with Rose and Jack in tow. Dashing to the base of the stairs, they found Sir Robert calling for the Queen, who was herself coming towards them asking what was happening.

"I've heard such terrible noises!" she was saying.

"Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what about Father Angelo, is he still here?"

"Captain Reynolds disposed of him." she replied.

"Door's no good, it's been boarded shut," Jack was saying. "Pardon me, Your Majesty. You'll have to escape through the window." She followed the Doctor's guiding hand, and was followed by MacLeash, Rose and Jack, with the Doctor bringing up the rear.

"Pardon me, ma'am," Sir Robert said, stepping around the Queen, "But I should go first, the better to assist Your Majesty."

"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh."

"Yes," broke in the Doctor, "But hurry up!"

The Scottish man climbed onto the window-seat, then opened the window, and ducked back at once under the fire from the monks below.

"Do they know who I am?" Victoria asked, affronted.

"Yeah, that's why they want you. The wolf's lined you up for a biting." Rose answered.

"Now, stop this talk." the monarch said. "It can't be an actual wolf!"

There was a howling from outside. The five of them ran into the open, to find the wolf trying to batter down the door.

"So what do we do?" Jack asked.

"We run." said the Doctor.

"Is that it?" Rose asked.

"Got any silver bullets?" asked the Doctor sarcastically.

"Not on me, no."

"Then we run. Your Majesty,may I suggest a vigorous jog? Good for the health." He took her hand, and helped her up flight after flight of stairs, until they reached the top. Then they began running don the hallway, the werewolf on their heels. They rounded a corner, gasping for breath, and it actually passed over Rose's head as she ducked - only to be knocked back by a bullet from Captain Reynolds.

"You go on, I'll hold him back." he said. "Your Majesty, I went to look for the property, it was removed from the safe."

"I have it," Victoria patted her handbag.

"Then remove yourself, ma'am. Doctor, Captain. You stand as Her Majesty's protectors, and you, Sir Robert, are a traitor to the Crown."

"Bullets can't stop it!" Jack snapped at him.

"But they'll buy you time, now run!" They did, running on until they reached the library. There they stopped, and the Doctor began barricading the door. Once they had finished, Sir Robert started to speak,but the Doctor shushed him.

"Listen." he said. There was a howl, but no further footfalls. "It's stopped." He moved to the door, pressed his ear against it. "It's gone." he said, after a moment.

"Not quite." answered Jack. They could all hear it pacing around the room.

"Is this the only door?" whispered Rose.

"Yes," MacLeish whispered back. "No!" he shouted, running over and barricading the other entrance. There was a series of extremely odd noises.

"What's stopping it, something in the walls?" the Doctor mused. He scanned one with the sonic screwdriver.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. It's all my fault." Sir Robert said from the corner. I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"

"Certainly weren't very servile." answered the Doctor.

"Will someone, pray, tell me, what exactly is that creature?"

"You'd probably call it a werewolf, but it's more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform."

"I'll not have it! This is not my world." Victoria said, slowly and dangerously. The Doctor returned to scanning the walls.

"Some sort of oil..." he muttered. He looked at the door. "Mistletoe! Oh, fantastic. Your dad was a _genius_! The monks need some way of controlling the wolf, and this is it. They've made it think it's allergic to mistletoe - didn't you see the garlands? - that's why it's not attacking."

"That doesn't mean it'll give up." Moaned Sir Robert. "And we still don't have any actual weapons."

"Words, Sir Robert," said he Doctor, somewhat archly "Are the only weapons anyone needs. We're in the biggest arsenal you could wish." He walked to a bookshelf, pulled off some volumes, tossed them out. "Arm yourselves."

The quartet in the library were feverishly skimming books (well, the Doctor was actually reading them, and had snuck in a novel, but he _looked_ like he was skimming), when Jack cried "Aha! Doctor, look at this!" There was a copy of a drawing, which pictured a shooting star which had fallen in 1540 into the Glen of Saint Catherine, by the monastery.

"But why'd it wait?" Rose asked.

"It was too weak. It didn't land on Earth, it fell. It was waiting, gaining strength. But why here?"

"That's what it said it wanted. The empire of the wolf." Rose indicated the Queen.

"Of course. Imagine it! The Industrial Revolution, accelerated. Steam-powered space fleets in the 1850s, travelling out to conquer the stars, leaving history devastated in its wake."

"Sir Robert." Queen Victoria stood. "If I am to die, here, I would destroy myself, rather than fall into the hands of that creature."seeing him about to interrupt, she said "No, that's no matter. I would only ask that you find a safe-keeping place for something far older and more precious than myself." She drew a great diamond from her bag.

"Is that the Koh-i-noor?" Jack gasped, awe-struck.

"Yes, it is. The largest diamond ever found."

"It came to me as the spoils of war. Perhaps the legend which surrounds it is coming true - it is said that whoever owns it must surely die."

"That's true of anyone, if you wait long enough. May I?" asked the Doctor, reaching forward. Victoria placed the diamond in it. "Oh, that's beautiful." Jack reached out with a trembling hand, touched it.

"It was destroyed in World War Four," he breathed. "Melted in the nuclear explosion."

"What's it worth?" asked Rose.

"They say, the wages of the entire planet, for a whole week."

"Good job my mum's not here then, she'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."

"She'd win." the Doctor murmured darkly.

"Why do you travel with it, ma'am?" Jack asked.

"It's my annual pilgrimage." Victoria answered. "I'm taking it to Hayley and Carew, the royal jewellers at Hazlehead. The stone needs re-cutting."

"Oh, but it's perfect!" said Rose.

"My late husband never thought so."

"And there's an oddity. Prince Albert kept having the Koh-i-noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this."

"He once said that the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished."

"Unfinished...oh, yes! Fantastic! This isn't just a trap for the Queen, it's a trap for the wolf! Prince Albert, he used to come here."

"Yes..."

"He and your father," turning to look at MacLeish. "Telling each other ghost stories. But what if the stories were true? So they set a trap. But they died with the trap unfinished!" At that moment, the werewolf broke through the skylight. Flinging the barricades aside, the library's inhabitants ran into the corridor. "We've got to get to the conservatory!" the Doctor cried. But the wolf could run faster than them, and would surely have caught them but for the timely intervention of a bucket of mistletoe broth, thrown by Lady Isabel. It fled.

Sir Robert kissed his wife, then told her to go somewhere safer.

"Keep yourself safe!" She cried. He kissed her again, and pushed her down a side-corridor.

"This way!" He cried. They ran on, as the wolf shook itself off. They finally reached the conservatory and ran inside.

"No mistletoe, he wanted the wolf to get inside. Now, I just need time. There must be some way of barricading it..." the Doctor trailed off, looking around.

"You do your work, I'll buy you time." said Sir Robert. The Doctor looked at him.

"Good man. You've saved the life of Her Majesty." Sir Robert nodded, and locked the door behind him.

"Now, Your Majesty, I need the diamond."

"For what purpose?"

"To set the trap for that wolf." She reached inside her dress and handed over the stone. "Thank you." he said, and ran with it to the "telescope" from before. "Rose, Jack, turn that wheel." he scrambled over to the main body, and began lifting it. "This thing's not a telescope, I said so. It's the other way 'round, it magnifies the light, we've just got to align it!"

"Align it with what?" Jack was exasperated.

"The moon. That creature runs on moonlight, but it can still drown, now come on!" the device was finally aligned, they saw as a bright patch appeared on the floor.

"Your Majesty, get back!" Jack yelled. She stumbled backwards, and he ran over and dragged her out of the reach of the wolf, who had burst through the locked doors. The Doctor threw himself bodily into the beam of light, and with the diamond in his outstretched hand, he speared the werewolf in its beam. Suddenly enormous, the light-beam threw the creature upwards, where it hung, as if crucified. Its lupine aspect fell away, and the man inside asked, in his own voice,

"Make it brighter. Let me go." the Doctor adjusted the magnifier slightly. The suspended being became a wolf again, howled, and vanished. They all sagged forward, relieved. Rose picked up the diamond from the floor, and returned it to the Queen.

Next morning, Jack, Rose (in a fresh dress, a gift from Lady Isabel) and the Doctor knelt.

"By the power invested in me by Church and State, I dub thee Sir Doctor of Tardis. By the power invested in me by Church and State, I dub thee Sir Jack of Boeshane. By the power invested in me by Church and State, I dub thee Dame Rose of Tardis. You may stand."

"Thank you, ma'am." they said in unison.

"Now, think on this. While I thank you for saving my life and my soul, I would ask you, Sir Doctor, not to set foot in my Empire again. You bring death in your wake. If such threats should ever again arise, know that I am this day setting up an institution to fight them. Great Britain has enemies beyond imagination, and we shall defend our borders on all sides. You are no longer needed here."

"Your Majesty?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Sir Jack."

"Might I be permitted to remain, and to help in the founding and running of this institution?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I believe that a man with experience will be very useful to you, especially in the early stages. Mistakes, as I know only too well, can be very costly indeed."

"Very well. Bid farewell to your companions, Sir Jack. You will not see them again in this life, for though they are not quite banished," she looked hard at them. "I will not be amused if I see them again."

They moved away. "Why are you doing' this, Jack? They'll find out what you are sooner or later."

"What can they do to me? I'll survive it. And like I said, they need my experience. Besides, even though I can't see the timelines, I was still a Time Agent. I've got a gut feeling about this."

The Doctor nodded. "All right. Then take this. I can build another. Setting _118_ if you want to get in touch." He hugged the other man, as did Rose.

"G'bye, Jack. And I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Rosie, you know I love you. Bye Doctor."

"Goodbye, _brother-in-law._" Jack heard the unspoken compliment, and treasured it as rare praise while the other two walked away, back to the TARDIS.

There. These things seem to get longer every time, I'm not sure why. Might be all the quick scene-changing. As always, reviews are dearly appreciated. (As would a beta be. This is rather longer than I can perfectly proof-read.)


End file.
